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August 2010 (Digital Available)

August is the hottest part of the summer, and our August issue covers the hottest and fastest-changing topic in the modern personal studio: the Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW. We revisit this rapidly changing landscape on a regular basis to touch on new and vital developments of interest to our readers, and our August issue is no exception!

In this issue, we look at new developments and new ways of working in the computer-based studio. Beto Hale takes us through the composing process for a Hollywood stage spectacle, where sometimes the correct answer to the familiar question of "Which DAW is best?" is "All of them at once!". New writer Darrell Burgan reveals the pitfalls and unexpected delights of a computer running Windows audio software... without running Windows. And Devon Brent explains how he's watching recent and current trends in audio computer hardware, to determine the best time to upgrade his computer to one that will last him for years to come.

And there are reviews galore, too! On the software side, Mike Metlay dives into new DAW contender PreSonus Studio One, and Allen Goodman discusses the thrills and chills of upgrading to Cakewalk's SONAR 8.5. And in hardware, we look at ways to add power to your DAW without buying a new computer: audio interface and control surface solutions from Steinberg for beginning and advanced users alike, a new disk array from Glyph Technologies, and the incredible Muse Research Receptor 2-a one-cable way to massively multiply your DAW's ability to handle plug-ins and virtual instruments.

Outside the computer, we have a review of AEA's beautiful new A840 ribbon mic, an interview (or two) that will thrill our guitar-playing readers, our latest look at the legalities of making and recording music for a living with ace music lawyer Todd Gascon and industry veteran Bruce Kaphan, and much more. Whether you rely on your computer for your music making or go old-school all the way, you'll find something to broaden your horizons in the August RECORDING!